The present invention relates to packaging an item such that the plane of at least one surface of the item to be packaged is non-parallel to the planes of the outer surfaces of a carton or similar container and in particular to such packaging of an item having a rectangular parallelepiped shape.
A number of approaches have been previously proposed or attempted for packaging items to reduce or eliminate damage from dropping or other handling of the package. In some approaches, the item to be packaged is enclosed in an inner container which, in turn, is positioned within an outer container. This is often done in a manner to assure that the item being packaged is spaced from the walls of the outer container. Although this approach has been useful for a number of purposes, it is believed that there is an opportunity for additional packaging improvement, especially when the item to be packaged has at least one planar surface and/or, when the item to be packaged has a parallelepiped shape (having six planar surfaces). Without wishing to be bound by any theory, it is believed that previous approaches have tended to orient surfaces of an object parallel to outer surfaces of a carton, e.g. in order to achieve efficiency of space (i.e., packing as many packaged items as possible within a trailer, railroad car, warehouse, storeroom, retail shelf or other space, and the like). For such items, there is, in general, a particular risk of damage. Without wishing to be bound by any theory, it is believed that damage occurs particularly when the outer carton is dropped (or otherwise subjected to a shock) on a carton face which is parallel to (or, in some cases, perpendicular to) the plane of a surface of the item which is packaged. Previous approaches involving an inner carton were typically less concerned with the direction of force vectors than with providing spacing from the outer carton walls. Accordingly, little or no attention was previously given to the risks of arising from parallel or orthogonal relationships between outer surfaces of the carton and planes of the item to be packaged. Indeed, many previous approaches involving an inner package were directed to protecting electronic tubes and other items having a substantially circular profile (and which, thus, did not have a parallelepiped and/or planar-surface shape).
Another approach has involved rolling an item up in an inflated or inflatable bladder device and placing assembly within a carton. As with the inner-carton approach, this approach is principally directed to maintaining spacing between the item to be packaged and the outer carton and, in general, items to be packaged, using this approach, would be as likely to be in a parallel or orthogonal relationship to the carton walls as any other orientation, since there was generally no device or procedure to assure any particular orientation within the outer carton.
Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a system, method and apparatus which can assist in reducing or eliminating certain types of damage arising from dropping or other shocks on a parallelepiped-shaped item or other item having one or more planar surfaces.
The present invention includes a recognition of the existence, nature and/or source of problems in previous approaches, including as described herein. According to one aspect of the present invention, an item to be packaged which has at least one planar surface, is positioned within an outer carton, itself having one or more planar surfaces, such that at least one planar surface of the item to be packaged is non-parallel to any of the planar surfaces of the outer carton. In one aspect, the item to be packaged is a rectangular parallelepiped defining width, height and depth axes, the outer parallelepiped carton also defining carton width, height and depth axes, the item to be packaged being positioned in the carton with at least one, and, and in some embodiments, two or three, axes tipped or angled with respect to axes of the carton. Preferably foam, cardboard or other inserts provide and/or maintain such non-orthogonal orientation of the item to be packaged. In some embodiments, the additional resistance to damage provided by such packaging can allow less robust (and less expensive) versions of items to be developed, such as by providing for chassis, panels or other components made of thinner and/or less expensive materials.
In one aspect, an item to be packaged which has at least a first substantially planar surface is positioned within the carton, also having at least a first substantially planar exterior carton surface such that the plane of the item to be packaged is non-orthogonal to and non-parallel with the plane of the carton exterior. In one aspect, a substantially parallelepiped-shaped item is rotated about one, two or three orthogonal axes for placing in a carton which may itself have a substantially parallelepiped exterior shape.